Book Cover (beta)

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Greetings,

I need a cover for my eBook, as it is not yet published I'm unable to show you a link to it, this is for a temporary cover until published. Here is a brief description of what i need, more details will be provided with feedbacks on the submitted works. Later I'll re-post a similar project to design definitive cover and would prefer to have one fan of the book to design it, but this is a different matter.

The book is a narrative, fantasy kind (yet another fantasy) that doesn't spare on blood, gore and cruelty as the life sometimes does; I have developed a personal taste to have its characters suddenly slain, nobody is safe in my book. I have developed a world where more than one adventure will take place, to start I'll publish a chronologically advanced chapter and eventually write what happened before, the whole project consists of more than one protagonist and setting. I'm a fan of AD&D and PnP RPG, i need something catching public and eventually editors alike. I prefer to leave you freedom of movement, and perhaps I'll notice something interesting for me and address you toward a style rather than another.

This first book is about the ordeal of a boy who will be "gifted" by Odea, the goddes of magic to restore order in the flow, The story doesn't ends with this book however, as his actions will develop in something more difficult and complitace to deal with, here I'll also introduce some of my favoured characters that will be protagonist in other books, have their own story and trials. As you may guess by my mistakes, the book isnt in english :-) but I don't this that it will be relevant for you.

I'll accept samples and draft, please specify if what you submit is a draft or your final concept, if a draft I can submit my feelings and guide you to further develop the idea or abandon it already to have you save time and maybe think of some different. The image can be square or rectangular on your choice, consider it is an eBook and I'll eventually adapt it or ask for a variation, it can be B&W or colored, I won't discriminate any possibility at this stage.

Offentlig Præciserings Opslagstavle

Congrats to the winner and to the contest holder $30.00 is really not worth an artists time to design a book cover. A min of 75.00 to 100.00 and you would have got a lot more artists submitting for your contest.
You did get a great job from the winner you were very lucky in that aspect. Maybe your next contest you will offer a closer prize to the work your asking for.
All in the winner did a good job and should be awarded more money for the effort.

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1st placed #37: richness of details had prevailed, also rewarding the artist for the time spent into the making of this picture, editing and further developing the concept. On its own its a great landscape, and would well fit as a cover for a mature book, it doesnt reveal too much about what is the book about and will lead the reader to click on thumbnail to at least learn more about it.

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2nd placed #20: individually I love it, nice interpretation and naif style; however the book is a bit too much mature, violent and there is sometimes gore scenes; this cover might mislead the buyer thinking more of a fable book. if I could come with a mitigated version version of the book to be published for a younger audience this cover would be good and interesting.

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3rd placed #40: great character details and improved respect previous image, however background is still a work in progress
4th placed #31: as specified the main character is designed too joung respect the book, he is not like that as the story starts

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Tomorrow 5 November will be announced the winner, I'll also include my motivation and considerations, I want to repeat it will not be easy, I read i can name 2 winners but this would be not fair i believe that there is only one place for winner :)

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#39 I really cant do that, it lasted way too long, 30 days; im sorry.

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CONTEST IS OVER:

Before we venture into the hard part of naming a champion, let me spend a few words to thank you all who have partecipated, i understand how hard and frustrating could be spending hours without being sure to get paid for the work, but this is the purpose of a contest i guess, something like a brainstorming; I have also learned a few things:

1) the time was obnoxiously too long, next time ill set at max 10 days (7 is the shortest time possible)
2) I will award a bigger price, 30 USD are really too few, i guess 50/100 should be more interesting

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For this reason let me say that to the winner of this contest will be offered to also design inner tables and covers of the next books of Odea's serie, but this is not the only serie that will belong to the world I have imagined, more totally different champions will be featured, both poisitve and also negative champions.

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FOR THE WINNER: Please include in the upload area when selected, a TXT file with your informations and with a text block as you want it to appear inside the book about the cover, there are two separate sections, one for me to contact you in future and one to make it publicly available inside the book.

ALL the 4 star rated pictures will enter the final stage, Ill first issue a POOL to have other people feedback, friends, co-workers and family, then I'll both evaluate this and my own feeling and alas, I'll have to pick one winner.

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IF YOU DID NOT WIN: Please preserve your image as it might be interesting for english or spanish version of the book once translated in relative language, should I be ready to issue a new contest you can re-submit your image, as it is probable that two or more images will score 1st but then I'll have to choose one only.

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I have a question for all the 4 star artists:

except your own, what other picture you like the most and why? :) please PM your considerations if you please!

TsN5 I do not understand the smile, but you're probably confused ideas or little experience, I think the second one! .. You do not have in mind what it means to make a cover for children ... but knowing that world if I were to propose a cover to a child / boy propose your own. I say this not to make controversy seriously :)

I could send you bunch of children book covers... and bunch of epic fantasy covers... But I wont.. Because I hope you understand that it really doesnt look like that.
I have a little experience with books... But Im still able to distinguish genres

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keyworkd for this book is "doubt" the main chracter doesnt know who to trust and who not, he has a lot of questions and none is fully answered with this first book; is Odea really good? what will she really do once she will be set free? Why should i free her after all?

So if we have to point out a real foe, a main antagonist then his own doubts are to be pointed, the first enemy is his own suspicious nature, his doubts about this whole story that dropped on him from nowhere "why am i doing this? I'm not even a mage, why me? are the using me?"

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wish i could merge elements from different pictures :) guess that this is not possible

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#35 see PM for details. I'd use same color for author name, white on white is nearly invisible.

awesome landscape, im not sure about the figure on the top right, proportions doesnt seem to match but perhaps its is me

hello, I post a draft for the environment , this corresponds to the river, let me know if you want something like a dark atmosphere, a place corrupted by some kind of force or imbalance, or say you want a sacred river with a heavenly atmosphere. entri my feedback please.

edit: I have asked to freelanceer, after the contest ends I'll have 14 days to name a winner, to there will be plenty of time, contest will end on its natural expiry date, the pool will start after that and last a few days.

thank you,

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let's take a moment to make the point about currently leading pictures positive elements:#20 colorfull picture with original a movement effect and rich detailed background
#26 cupe and dark tone with good details on character gear and nice talisman interpretation#31 original concept with ideally Odea collecting the magic flows, rich detailed background

picture are evaluated accordingly to the following element: richness of details, color scheme / tone, dynamism of the scene, original concept and how well all of the above match the feeling of the story. Each aspect have a different weight, and I understand and take into consideration that artists are "blind drawing" on something that they didnt read, so there is a high freedom of interpretation.

hello, I have 3 questions.
1. - The main character has some nemesis?
2. - What motivates the pricipal character? ... hate, revenge, justice, love, etc..
3.- Is there some epic landscape relevant to the cover?

...check my gallery to see if you like my style.
http://zicuta.deviantart.com/

I'll be submitting some art this week. It's an interesting concept so I think it would be fun to do some art for it. Sometime money doesn't matter and putting more stuff into your portfolio is important too.

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hello, thank you for your partecipation; i'm lookingforward to see your hand!

I also think that the real payback is also given by binding our name to something that many (i hope!) people will have a chance to read and know. As i always stated I'm looking for a one-stop-shop for my book's covers and inner tables.

hello, thank you for trying again with #27, while I might appreciate the idea, the image seems to be in low quality, especially the carachter, seems like cropped from something else, i would also correct the text as its contrast is minimal and the title not very well readable in thumbnail size.

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here is a summary of what element i like for the following images:
#26 the dark tone and the use of light reflexes in the image, character gear details#20 colorfull illustration, detailed and entangling as artist impressed movement to the scene#4 text effect, i dont know if this is a pre-made font or not, open to clarification

generally the cover should be "catching" the interest of a possible buyer so that he/she at least click the thumbnail to read more about the book, then the shift pass to the story but the initial "focus" for an unknown author such as me rely mostly on the cover.

I think that anything over 2 weeks is too long. people lose interest. You will get more entries as the contest is ending. You have few entries due to the low price. Many designers will not even look at contests like this. It takes a lot of time to make art. It may take Tsn5 only 5 hours to design, 5 hours for 30.00 is not a lot of money. A color one can take much longer. Most designers make 20.00 or more an hour. so when they are offered less than 5.00 and hour it is not worth the time of the artist. That is why you are getting such simple entries and clipart. TsN5 seems to be a good black and white artist so you are very lucky that he has entered the contest. But with such a low price point you will not get any of the really amazing artists out there. I do contests like this when I have spare time and it seems like an interesting contest where I can challenge myself a bit.

Nope, Im digital artist. Im working with PC and Graphic tablet.. In Photoshop.. But all its hand drawn.. Its really great technique and makes things a lot easier :)
And ye.. 5 hours takes the work.. The idea takes 10 hours sometimes :D Because I have to be fully satisfied with piece from the beginning to the end.

I would like to specify that the novel is not intended for children, the book feature horrible subjects, there is blood and gore, violence and cruelty sometimes. Betrayal and (more ore less called) surprises, some expected other keept hidden till the end. This isn't the most grim and dark book of the series but I'll get there when representing other charactes and settings.

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#25 thanks for your contribution, i like the overall setting, however the illustration looks a bit too nacked and young respect Odea's personality.